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Mexico
Mexico 'is a federal republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico.13 Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi),12 Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 120 million,14 it is the eleventh most populous and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world and the second most populous country in Latin America. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, its capital and largest city. In pre-Columbian Mexico many Mesoamerican cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico following recognition of the colony's independence in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War that led to the territorial cession to the United States, the Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. In March 1938, through the Mexican oil expropriation private U.S. and Anglo-Dutch oil companies were nationalized to create the state-owned Pemex oil company. Mexico has one of the world's largest economies, it is the tenth largest oil producer in the world, the largest silver producer in the world and is considered both a regional power and middle power.15161718 In addition, Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (since 1994), and considered an upper-middle income country by the World Bank.19 Mexico is considered a newly industrialized country20212223 and an emerging power.24 It has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest GDP by purchasing power parity. The economy of Mexico is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, especially the United States.2526 Mexico ranks sixth in the world and first in the Americas by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 32,272829 and in 2010 was the tenth most visited country in the world with 22.5 million international arrivals per year.30 According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Mexico could become the world's fifth largest economy.31 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimated in January 2013 that by 2050 Mexico could be the world's seventh largest economy.32 Mexico has membership in prominent institutions such as the UN, the WTO, the G20 and the Uniting for Consensus. History '''2008 ' Mexican Congress approved on May 2 a reform that sought to modernize the judicial system, setting a 2016 deadline for the 32 states to end behind-closed-doors trials and implement public proceedings where prosecutors and defenders would present evidence in an effort to improve transparency. '''2012 The 2012 general election took place on July 1, with Enrique Pena Nieto winning the election as president with 38.15% of the vote. Enrique Pena Nieto took office on December 1 as the 57th President of Mexico, inaugurated at a military parade in which he proposed agendas and reforms for the new administration amidst protests and riots outside the national palace; more than 90 were arrested. A law was approved on December 13 for far-reaching security reforms for specialized police units. 2014 43 college students were attacked by police in Iguala on September 26 during a protest over education reform and handed over to a local gang to deal with them, at the masterminding of Iguala's mayor. Four mass graves were discovered on October 4 with 28 bodies, angering the public. The first large-scale demonstrations against the Iguala attacks and the students' disappearance occurred in Mexico City on October 8. It was discovered on October 11 that the bodies in the first set of mass graves didn't belong to the Iguala students, alarming the public that clandestine burial sites linked to drug-war violence could be found throughout Guerrero. Federal police arrested Iguala's mayor Abarca and his wife on November 4 for the abduction of 43 missing students a month and a half prior. Mexico abruptly canceled a $3.75 billion contract to build a high-speed train line with a Chinese-led company on November 6, angering the corporation. Protests turned violent on November 8 after demonstrators set fire to the door of the President's ceremonial palace in Mexico City. Riots erupted on November 20 outside Mexico City's National Palace as thousands protested against the president's handling of the Iguala massacre of 43 college students. 2015 On July 30, twenty people were killed when a dump truck plowed into pilgrims in Zacatecas in central Mexico.